Starring: wealthy, glamorous Lavinia, and penniless, forgettable Louise, who hit it off despite their differences, and are soon painting Manhattan red -- but how long will the party last?

Why you might like it: The glitz and glamour of the money-is-no-object lifestyle in New York is a draw in itself, but the real appeal is in the souring relationship between the two women. You know it won't end well from the early pages, but following along is undeniably enjoyable.

What it's about: Fourteen years ago, Angela Wong disappeared. Her best friend Geo has just given testimony against her own high-school boyfriend, now known as the Sweetbay Strangler -- and is facing jail time herself as an accessory.

Why you might like it: What happened that night? Flashbacks allow the story to unfold slowly, the tension always increasing. Meanwhile, women in the present are dying in eerily similar ways.

For fans of: the gruesome realism of the grisly Heartsick series by Chelsea Cain.

What happens: Problems on Amtrak's New Jersey routes cause a backup at Penn Station; when a bomb explodes there, the casualties are massive. Julia Swann believes her husband Michael has survived, and begins a desperate search to find him.

Why you might like it: As Julia is forced to confront difficult questions (why hasn't Michael called her? Is he somehow involved in the bombing?), this novel moves from family drama to page-turning (and terrifyingly plausible) suspense novel.

Where it's set: In this 6th in the series starring game warden Mike Bowditch, he's headed to Maine's Hundred-Mile Wilderness, along the Appalachian Trail, where two women have disappeared.

What happens: While it's conceivable that coyotes are responsible, it's more likely that humans are the problem -- and the stakes increase when Mike's girlfriend, biologist Stacy Stevens, also disappears.

Why you might like it: The vividly depicted wilderness, multi-faceted characters, and increasing suspense set this "among the very best outdoors-based crime dramas" (Booklist).

Where it's set: This is James Rollins' Sigma Force series, so we're talking all over the world, but the catalyst is the possibility that ancient plagues are returning in Egypt. The team's push to stop the spread takes them to Sudan and the Arctic.

Why you might like it: Bigger than life, this 12th in the series features "exotic locales, heroic quests, quixotic villains, action galore" (Publishers Weekly), as well as some nifty scientific and historical tidbits.

What it's about: Troy Pearce and his team are dispatched to Tokyo by U.S. President Lane to stop the rising tensions between China, who has staked a dubious claim in the hotly disputed waters of the East China Seas, and Japan, who is threatening to pursue a military expansion of its naval forces to stop the Chinese aggression.